FOLK SONG SUITE
A lively symphonic suite of folk tunes for concert band, comprising eight spirituals, work songs, Scottish reels and Hebrew melodies.
- 1975/2009
- 15 minutes
Folk Song Suite has also been transcribed for (1) children’s voices and chamber orchestra, and (2) young voices with piano and percussion.
PUBLISHED BY
Folk Song Suite is available from UMP.
performances
- 3 December 2022: Goring and Streatley Concert Band Christmas Concert at St. Thomas of Canterbury Church, Goring-on-Thames. Conductor: Andrew McBirnie
REVIEWS
For those concert bands which have enjoyed playing the folk song arrangements of V.W., Holst, Gordon Jacob and latterly Philip Sparke, Richard Lambert’s Folk Song Suite would be a welcome addition to the repertoire. The suite stands up well alongside those celebrated composers of the genre and is packed full of well-known and not so well-known folk melodies (not all British) which pass smoothly from one to the other and arrive in a breathless helter-skelter at the finale. The orchestration is handled well and is well balanced with all instruments getting equal attention. It is a busy piece with very little let-up in pace in the outer two movements. It is not a particularly easy piece, there are technical demands made on all the instrumental sections and I would say it would suit a county wind orchestra or advanced music service concert band. The suite would provide a fitting end to any concert.
Malcolm Crane